G/TBT/GEN/284  
 
21 January 2020  
(20-0562) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
AGENDA ITEM 4 – ISO REPORT TO THE TBT C OMMITTEE   
INFORMATION PROVIDED  BY ISO 
This document contains the statement made by  ISO at the TBT Committee meeting  of 
13-15 November 2019 under Agenda Item 4 (Updating by Observers).  
 
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1.  ISO would like to thank the WTO TBT for the opportunity to provide an update on ISO activities.  
First an update on the revision process for ISO/IEC Guide 59, "ISO and IEC recommended practices 
for standardization by national bodies". The revision process completed i n August 2019 and the 
latest edition of the ISO/IEC Guide 59:2019 is now publicly available in both English and French on 
the ISO websites.  
2.  Whereas the first edition of this Guide published in 1994 provided general guidance, this second 
edition focusses s pecifically on ISO and IEC recommended practices for standardization by their 
national bodies. It is intended to be used primarily by the national bodies of ISO and IEC. Other 
Standards bodies may use it, if they wish.  
3.  Furthermore, in response to the needs  expressed by the ISO members in developing countries, 
ISO has completed its publication on Good Standardization Practice (GSP). This publication is now 
freely available on the ISO website.  
4.  The publication on GSP provides detailed information in a more com prehensive manner to support 
national standards bodies (NSBs) in strengthening the standardization pillar of their National quality 
infrastructures. The main objective is to provide guidance on operating, in an effective and efficient 
manner, the essential  core-activities needed to develop and publish standards. It is based on the 
concept of a "value chain" that is often used by many organizations to optimize their strategic and 
operational activities. The publication includes collective, practical experien ce from many NSBs 
around the world.  
5.  To complement the GSP publication, a diagnostic tool has been developed to enable NSBs to 
review and evaluate their current performance across the organization value chain and help identify 
potential gaps and solutions t hat are appropriate for an NSB to comply with GSP.  
6.  The ISO publication on GSP and the revised ISO/IEC Guide 59:2019, are complementary in that 
they address similar issues and provide guidance on how to comply with their necessary 
requirements. Therefore, i t is recommended that they should be considered together by NSBs within 
the ISO/IEC system to meet the rapidly changing market conditions and to contribute to the 
achievement of UN SDGs.  
7.  Lastly, ISO has initiated the preparation of a toolkit on Standards S upporting Public Policy 
addressed to our members, particularly in developing countries. The toolkit aims at providing 
practical guidance to NSBs on how they can better contribute to an effective policy making process 
within the context of Good Regulatory P ractices (GRP) in their countries. Particular attention will be 
given to the importance and possible forms of collaboration with regulators. The toolkit will provide 
practical examples and best practices and will include a series of common questions/answer s to 
assist NSBs in their work of promoting the benefits and methods of using standards among policy 
makers. The toolkit is expected to be available in December 2020.  
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